Proper Knowledge about Cancer During Pregnancy
Cancer and Pregnancy
Because of the increase in the number of pregnant women, there is also a corresponding increase in the incidence of cancer to women. Likewise, because of the insistence of health-monitoring agencies that prenatal ultrasound examinations become permanent and mandatory in all pregnancies, there is also an increase in the number of pregnancies wherein expectant mothers were discovered to have maternal tumors. While the increase in figures may be thought to be alarming, it is not really so because that only means those stringent measures in monitoring pregnancies are now in place to better keep every pregnancy safe.
What to Do with Cancer During Pregnancy
In most cases, a woman is already aware of her cancerous condition even before pregnancy. In such cases, women are commonly advised not to get pregnant lest she will be putting her life and that of the baby at risk. Nonetheless, when a woman wishes to be pregnant, the condition is religiously monitored so as to keep both mother and her baby safe. Such situations demand regular and thorough checkup to make sure that one’s pregnancy is on schedule and there is no risk of complications.
If the continuance of pregnancy is very risky to both mother and baby, a caesarian section delivery is commonly resorted to terminate pregnancy early on and to prevent complications. After the delivery, only then can a more aggressive treatment for cancer be resorted to because there is now no risk of harm to the baby and the mother’s condition is no longer that dangerous.
Treatment of Cancer During Pregnancy
Because of the need to treat cancer immediately, there is a pressing need to counter the advancement of cancer. However, any treatment resorted to must be balanced against the possible risks to pregnancy. The easiest form of treatment is through drugs. However, the drugs must be with the approval of a doctor to make sure that it will have no adverse effect to the pregnancy. In any case, the use of drugs to treat cancer is only a stopgap measure to prevent the spread of cancer.
On the other hand, radiation therapy is a no-no because of the risk of congenital malformations and miscarriage. Magnetic resonance imaging is the common method used in diagnosis. However, there still needs to be caution in its use to see to it that the procedure will not affect the placenta.
